Shoot’s Dead, Can the Tree Be Saved?

QUESTION: I have a kentia palm that’s been doing very well for years, but suddenly it sent up a new shoot that was dead on arrival. Does this mean the tree is dying and if so, what can I do to save it?

ANSWER: Not to worry. Once in a while, perfectly healthy palm trees send up new shoots that are dead on arrival, as you so cleverly put it. This usually means only that the root system of the new shoot was too weak to survive. If this continues to happen, however, perhaps a good fertilizing is the answer.

Use a liquid houseplant food and nourish the plant with every watering for the next four waterings. If the entire tree begins to die, well, you know the ending to that story.

A Few Tips on Raising Avocados From Seed

Q: I am growing avocados from seed and, until recently, they were doing well. Now the leaves are wilting, turning brown, shriveling up and falling off. They look blighted. The stalks are healthy and the plants continue to grow taller and produce new leaves, but they, too, get this blight. What is wrong and what can I do?

A: This complaint is very, very common among indoor avocado-pit growers. It happens to me all the time, too.

I’ve tried rooting the pits in soil, I’ve tried in water; I’ve grown them in sun, shade, partial sun and shade. The result, however, is almost always the same as you’ve described.

One thing that seems to help is to pinch off new growth after the plant is about a foot tall; this causes new branches to appear from the sides and retards the spindly growth of a single stalk. In your case, I’d cut the plants way back--maybe down to six inches from the top of the soil--put them in a bright location and keep the humidity as high as you can by placing the pots on saucers filled with pebbles and water and spraying frequently.

If this doesn’t work, you’ll either have to surrender or grow the plants outside, where they will thrive, become huge trees and grow lots of fruit suitable for guacamole.

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Are your palms pooping? Are your ferns flopping? Send your houseplant questions to the Indoor Gardener in care of the Real Estate section, Los Angeles Times, Times Mirror Square, Los Angeles CA 90053. Questions cannot be answered individually.